Our spiritual leaders can be the biggest blessing to us and our family, and as members of a congregation, we are called to take care of our leaders as well.

1 Timothy 5:17-18 instructs us in this by saying, "The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. For Scripture says, 'Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,' and 'The worker deserves his wages.'"

While many church members and leaders choose to bless their pastor by giving them tokens and gifts, our means of showing gratitude doesn't have to be limited to those. In fact, there are dozens of ways that we can bless our pastors.

Here are five uncommonly practiced ways to bless pastors and their families.

Protect your pastor's family

The family members of pastors are often the receiving end of many of ministry's unwanted pressures. Many spouses and children of ministers admit to being confronted by unrealistic expectations, gossip and verbal attack from people inside and outside of the church.

As members of our pastors' flock, we can also respond to the call to protect our pastors from the pressure by assuring them, confronting gossip when exposed and consistently praying for them.

Hold them to account when necessary

Pastors are nowhere close to perfect leaders. They also need guidance, and as followers we can also respond to the need to "lead our north." This is best done by directly giving feedback and recommendations to our leaders.

Take note that any rebuke must always be given in love because your pastors are people and they have feelings too.

Encourage

Pastors are often their congregations' constant cheerleader. As our pastors build us up in the faith, we must also build up their faith by offering words of affirmation and encouragement every time we get the chance to do so.

Get involved

Whether it's in volunteer ministry, discipleship or strategizing, our pastors will always need additional inputs from other people. When we are actively involved and completely submitted to the authority of our spiritual leaders, we bless them in ways we will never know.

Allow sabbatical leaves

For some unknown reason, many pastors find it hard to take breaks without hearing from their members that it's okay to do so. Ministry can be a daunting task and pastors often feel that they are in a 24 hours a day, seven days a week profession.

Often pastors cannot take breaks until their congregations give them a full thumbs up and release them so they may enjoy time with their families and with God.